Taliban, IS abduct 35 civilians in Afghanistan

As many as 35 civilians have been kidnapped by militants of the Islamic State and Taliban in northern Afghanistan’s Jawzjan province, locals said on Sunday.

“Both IS and the Taliban have created checkpoints along the way between Qush Tipa and Darzab districts of the province, arresting individuals on charges of having links with the other side, and recently 35 people, all civilians, have been taken hostage by the two rival groups,” a local resident was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Meanwhile, Nasratullah Jamshidi, the press officer of the 209th Shaheen Corps of the Afghan National Army, confirmed the incident, saying he had received such a report.

Fighting has escalated in Afghanistan as the Taliban insurgency spreads from its traditional strongholds in the south and east to the once peaceful region in the north, where the militants have been recruiting from among the youth.